BRIC
647 Fulton Street
New York
Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer and Jenny Gerow.
Jun. 27 – Aug. 18 2019
Traditionally seen as an activity of childhood, for enjoyment and recreation rather than for serious or practical purpose, play is also at the heart of artistic practice. Processes and values that inform play – making, taking apart and crafting back together, transforming space, and improvising – can be equally applied to the process of artistic creation in the studio. Serious intent, however, defines artists engaging in the realm of play.
Artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, and Ronny Quevedo provide tools to embolden the viewer through the act of play to think differently about issues of gender, race, and class. For Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair, play with the materiality of paint and cloth instructs an awareness of the mutability of shapes and ideas. For all six artists, embracing the forms of childhood play that encourage experimentation, chance, failure, and humor provides a roadmap into better ways of being in the world.
BRIC, is an art center located in downtown Brooklyn, New York. The show Serious Play was curated by Elizabeth Ferrer and Jenny Gerow and included artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, Ronny Quevedo, Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair.
Exhibition view of Serious Play at BRIC.
Whole together, All apart, 2019, Pigments and acrylic on industrial felt cut in space, 7x20x16ft
Exhibition view of Serious Play at BRIC.
Whole together, All apart, 2019, Pigments and acrylic on industrial felt cut in space, 7x20x16ft
Exhibition view of Serious Play at BRIC.
Downtown suite (extract), 2019, Paper inlay in double sided artist frame, 9x12in (unframed)
Exhibition view of Serious Play at BRIC.
Downtown suite (extract), 2019, Paper inlay in double sided artist frame, 9x12in (unframed)
Exhibition view of Serious Play at BRIC.
Downtown suite (extract), 2019, Paper inlay in double sided artist frame, 9x12in (unframed)
DFN Projects curated by Garvey|Simon
Oct. 5 – Nov. 3, 2023.
DFN Projects
16 East 79th Street
New York
Presented by Garvey | Simon.
Curated by Liz Garvey.
Image caption, from left to right :
Julien Gardair, Rose, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Melanie Vote, Cottage Window, 2023, 16-x12in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Julien Gardair, Wide Open, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Melanie Vote, Within Cottage, 2023, 16-x12in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
The meeting of different artistic visions reveals connections in creativity, and this exhibition uncovers these unexpected harmonies, exposing a silent dialogue between the two artists’ works. Although Gardair and Vote live together, their studios are in different locations and have distinctly diverse artistic practices.
Julien Gardair’s recent paintings reveal his innovative approach to art. Drawing inspiration from the Supports/Surfaces movement in France and the Pattern/Decoration movement in the United States, Gardair’s art is a fusion of materiality and pattern, along with the structural constraints of Minimalism. These multi-faceted pieces are a synthesis of vibrant paintings and textile works and are created by employing techniques like folding, cutting, and stitching. His work challenges the viewer’s perception of materiality. His sustainable approach ensures that no parts of the paintings are discarded, nodding to the global potential of restoration and upcycling.
Melanie Vote embarks on a visual exploration of impermanence, emphasizing the ever-changing nature of existence and inviting her viewers to be transported into her forest experiences. Vote’s deep connection with trees is palpable and invites reflection on our relationship with the natural world. Raised on a farm in Iowa and now a long-time resident of New York City, her paintings delve into the intricate relationship between humans and the land, linking her formative and present influences in nature. Each of Vote’s intimately sized paintings in this exhibition begins en plein air and the artist later weaves subtle narration to the work in the studio.
Left: Julien Gardair, Zaouj, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Center: Melanie Vote, Flamboyan, 2023, 16-x12in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Right: Julien Gardair, Striped, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Above: Julien Gardair, Ascension, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Below: Melanie Vote, Hackberry Tree, Complicated Roots, 2023, 16-x12in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Left: Julien Gardair, Growth, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Right, top: Melanie Vote, Burr Oak with Blonde & Yarrow, 2023, 11-x14in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Right, bottom: Melanie Vote, Tree Summer, 2020, 11x14in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Top: Melanie Vote, Hallow, 2021, 12-x9in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Bottom: Julien Gardair, Malin, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
From left to right :
Julien Gardair, Rose, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Melanie Vote, Cottage Window, 2023, 16-x12in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Julien Gardair, Wide Open, 2023, 16x12in, Acrylic on canvas, folded, cut, stitched, and stretched over wooden stretchers.
Melanie Vote, Within Cottage, 2023, 16-x12in, oil paper mounted on wood panel.
Brainard Carey interviews Julien Gardair for Yale University Radio wybcx about the show Concurrence.
Listen to the interview
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Stainless steel and steel, 2018
Permanent installation on the F line, NY
18th Avenue and Kings Highway stations
Fabricated by KC Fabrications
Photographs by Peter Peirce
Project managers Yaling Chen and Bridget Donlon
Brooklyn-based artist Julien Gardair created We are each others for the Kings Highway and 18th Avenue Stations. The artwork depicts figural sculptures with seating elements and whimsical windscreen panels. Figures from local history as well as present-day residents were the inspiration for the stainless steel sculptures. The artist refers to the early days of the area such as the arrival of European settlers and the foundation of the Culver train line at the turn of the 20th century bringing an expansion of residents in South Brooklyn. This series of joyful sculptures also captures themes of family life and resourcefulness in the neighborhood. Each sculpture is strictly made from a single piece of metal, cut along one continuous line and folded.
The sculptures are linked to one another by ornemental windscreens. For these the artist drew a line that divides a panel in 2 parts. Each piece is repeated, then arranged in multiple ways to create 14 unique configurations. The positive and negative arrangements mirror each other from across the platform at each station.
Gardair created all of the artwork with a no-waste design framework which relates to the future of the neighborhood and the environmental impact of all of New York City. Passengers will travel through time and imagination on their commute when experiencing Julien Gardair’s We are each others artwork at these two Culver Line Stations.
Serious Play: Translating Form, Subverting Meaning is devoted to an exploration of forms of play as a process in contemporary art.
Traditionally seen as an activity of childhood, for enjoyment and recreation rather than for serious or practical purpose, play is also at the heart of artistic practice. Processes and values that inform play – making, taking apart and crafting back together, transforming space, and improvising – can be equally applied to the process of artistic creation in the studio. Serious intent, however, defines artists engaging in the realm of play.
BRIC, is an art center located in downtown Brooklyn, New York.
The show was curated by Elizabeth Ferrer and Jenny Gerow and included artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, Ronny Quevedo, Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair.
Artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, and Ronny Quevedo provide tools to embolden the viewer through the act of play to think differently about issues of gender, race, and class. For Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair, play with the materiality of paint and cloth instructs an awareness of the mutability of shapes and ideas. For all six artists, embracing the forms of childhood play that encourage experimentation, chance, failure, and humor provides a roadmap into better ways of being in the world.
Exhibition Serious Play
at BRIC Art Center, Brooklyn, New York
Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer and Jenny Gerow.
Works Included:
Whole together, All apart, 2019
Pigments and acrylic on industrial felt cut in space
7x20x16ft
Downtown suite (extract), 2019
4 paper inlay in double sided artist frames hanged at the corners of a custom built column
each 9x12in (unframed)
Serious Play: Translating Form, Subverting Meaning is devoted to an exploration of forms of play as a process in contemporary art.
Traditionally seen as an activity of childhood, for enjoyment and recreation rather than for serious or practical purpose, play is also at the heart of artistic practice. Processes and values that inform play – making, taking apart and crafting back together, transforming space, and improvising – can be equally applied to the process of artistic creation in the studio. Serious intent, however, defines artists engaging in the realm of play.
BRIC, is an art center located in downtown Brooklyn, New York.
The show was curated by Elizabeth Ferrer and Jenny Gerow and included artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, Ronny Quevedo, Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair.
Artists Chris Bogia, Damien Davis, Kat Chamberlin, and Ronny Quevedo provide tools to embolden the viewer through the act of play to think differently about issues of gender, race, and class. For Amanda Valdez and Julien Gardair, play with the materiality of paint and cloth instructs an awareness of the mutability of shapes and ideas. For all six artists, embracing the forms of childhood play that encourage experimentation, chance, failure, and humor provides a roadmap into better ways of being in the world.
Event
Part of MTA Arts & Design collection, We are each others, is an ensemble of figural sculptures with seating elements and whimsical windscreen panels, spans over two stations of New York city’s subway.
Learn more about it
Exhibition
The painting L’Around, is included in Vector, a group show curated by Bianca Abdi Boragi at Heaven Gallery in Chicago.
Learn more about it
Exhibition
Interconnected, a new cutout installation made of 53 cutout cubes, was part of the first JAX Art Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Learn more about it
September, 2022, New York City
Payne Whitney Mansion,
972 Fifth Avenue
Along, traveled the Gobelins Tapestry
Polynésie Le ciel
by Henri Matisse.
On the occasion of
the 77th session of the
UN General Assembly,
and the visit of
Hervé Lemoine,
President of the Mobilier National, Paris
French-born, Brooklyn-based artist Julien Gardair makes carpets, paper cutouts, paintings, sculptures, video, and everything in between. This proclivity for smooth sail between forms in context of specific sites globally paired with his insatiable explorations, make his body of work versatile, whimsical and layered.
